Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the most significant killer in the United states. Since 1900 CVD has been the No. 1 killer in the United States (See FIG. 8) every year but 1918. Nearly 2,500 Americans die of CVD each day, an average of one death every 35 seconds. CVD claims more lives each year than the next four leading causes of death combined, which are cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes mellitus. In comparison, other causes of death in 2003 are: cancer, 554,643; accidents, 105,695; Alzheimer's disease, 63,343; HIV (AIDS), 13,544. The 2003 preliminary CVD death rates were 364.2 for males and 262.5 for females. Cancer death rates were 232.3 for males and 160.2 for females. Breast cancer claimed the lives of 41,566 females in 2003; lung cancer claimed 67,894. The death rates for women were 25.2 for breast cancer and 41.1 for lung cancer. One in 30 female deaths are from breast cancer, while one in 2.6 are from CVD. Based on preliminary 2003 mortality, CVD caused about a death a minute among females—over 480,000 female lives every year. That's more female lives than were claimed by the next five leading causes of death combined (cancer, COPD, Alzheimer's, diabetes and accidents). Over 152,000 Americans killed by CVD each year are under age 65. In 2002, 32 percent of deaths from CVD occurred prematurely (i.e., before age 75, close to the average life expectancy).
According to a 2006 Update, The American Heart Association estimated direct and indirect cost of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) for 2006 is $403.1 billion. In 2003, an estimated 6,821,000 inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures were performed in the United States; 3.9 million were performed on males and 2.9 million were performed on females. Preliminary mortality data show that CVD as the underlying cause of death accounted for 37.3 percent of all deaths, or one of every 2.7, in the United States in 2003. CVD as an underlying contributing cause of death (1,408,000 deaths) accounted for about 58 percent of deaths in 2002.
The overall preliminary death rate from CVD in 2003 was 308.8. The rates were 359.1 for white males and 479.6 for black males; 256.2 for white females and 354.8 for black females. From 1993-2003, death rates from CVD (ICD/10 I00-I99) declined 22.1 percent. In the same 10-year period actual CVD deaths declined 4.6 percent.
Based on revised 2000 population data, the average life expectancy of people born in the United States in 2003 is 77.6 years. (CDC/NCHS) According to the CDC/NCHS, if all forms of major CVD were eliminated, life expectancy would rise by almost seven years. If all forms of cancer were eliminated, the gain would be three years. FIG. 8 illustrates the urgent need for a cure of CVD since CVD is by far the biggest killer of adults in the USA.
There is, therefore, a clear and urgent need for the solutions presented in this invention for treatment and prevention of CVD.